The Sagrada Famila is not to everyone's taste. Picasso, says van Hensbergen, "despised Gaudi's buildings and all that he stood for'' but even its detractors admit to fascination.

That fascination sees the incomplete building attracting 4 million paying visitors a year, who pay $NZ40-$48 to tour the interior. In addition, many times that number who gawp from outside.

Although it traces the architect's life, The Sagrada Famila is essentially a sequel to van Hensbergen's 2001 biography of Gaudd, concentrating - as the title indicates - on his most famous work.

Unfortunately, the book has a major flaw. The author assumes the reader to have some familiarity with the Sagrada Famila and for those who do not, or have only a hazy recollection of the ceramic-tiled wonders of Barcelona, the lack of photographs is a serious omission.

Their absence pulls a promising book down from seriously good to rather disappointing.